New York’s sports betting market launched in January to staggering numbers, quickly surpassing previous records set by its neighbour New Jersey. While February has seen a drop off when compared to January, the Empire State continues to be the nation’s biggest online sports betting market.
New York’s sportsbooks took in around $1.53bn in wagers during February, a 12% decrease from the previous month’s $1.7bn handle. This decrease has been attributed to a diminished footballing calendar during the month, despite the Super Bowl being played on February 13.
This handle averages out to approximately $54.6m in bets per day.
In terms of revenue, online sportsbooks won $82.4m during the second month of the year. This number falls markedly short of the national record, $124.1m, that the Empire State’s sportsbooks earned in January.
FanDuel claimed top spot in February, with $568.1m in bets and $23.2m in revenue. This comes after an impressive launch from Caesars Entertainment that saw the operator become the state’s early leaders.
Indeed, fueled by notably high marketing spend, Caesars was the fastest off the blocks but have now fallen to third among the state’s regulated sportsbooks.
Ahead of Caesars in the rankings, and in second place, is DraftKings with $387.6m in wagers and a revenue of $30m.
While February's slightly diminished sporting calendar led to an overall drop off in online betting activity across New York State, the same is not likely to be said for March. With the upcoming March Madness, New York could see another month of record-setting numbers in the near future.
